There's a lot to be said for how good this game feels, and if/when I revisit it, that's clearly going to be the reason why. The handling, the music, the rapid pace at which it cycles from digging to platforming to fighting - it all comes together beautifully. It's just an extremely fun game on its baseline.

The obstacle Dig faces, though, is that players will have varying levels of patience for the roguelike structure. This is a hard game, and I don't think it necessarily has the run-level variety or the degree of player-control to keep everyone around. Most roguelikes have an aspect of build crafting, but in Dig, you only get to choose your upgrades when you're lucky enough to stumble into a shop (and if you've happened to stockpile enough gems to afford something). So it's hard to feel proud of a run when you don't have much agency at all over your "build." It adds to this growing fear that all you're doing is waiting for a god roll to be able to beat the game.

I do often wonder with roguelikes if the game would be better as a linear experience, and to Dig's credit, I am glad that it has that randomness built-in. I just wish it was a little bit more rewarding and a little less punishing.